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Alabama'a Tua Tagovailoa declares for NFL draft!

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May 29, 2001
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Still recovering from hip surgery Tua decides to go pro. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Tagovailoa projected as third overall. Good luck to Tua. BTW Tagovailoa's real first name is Tuanigamanuolepola. Say that 10 times fast!
 
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Lowest he will fall is to the ‘fins at 5... but I agree too many questions as of now to take him that high, but it sounds as if some of those questions will be answered in a few months... from what I have seen he should be able to at least throw and do some non contact drills around spring time....

his best case situation is to go someplace where he can sit the year, learn the system and fully recover and I do think the Dolphins can provide that for him. I think Tua has a much higher ceiling than Burrow, but he his floor is also much lower than Burrows as well. You can see him being a huge success just as easy as you can see him never materializing due to the injury
 
Definitely the right move. He’d get picked apart in college next year and if he got hurt again he’d have that injury prone label and drop quite a bit. Plus he’d have to compete with Lawrence and fields. Get your money and get paid to recover with a better medical staff.
 
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Lowest he will fall is to the ‘fins at 5... but I agree too many questions as of now to take him that high, but it sounds as if some of those questions will be answered in a few months... from what I have seen he should be able to at least throw and do some non contact drills around spring time....

his best case situation is to go someplace where he can sit the year, learn the system and fully recover and I do think the Dolphins can provide that for him. I think Tua has a much higher ceiling than Burrow, but he his floor is also much lower than Burrows as well. You can see him being a huge success just as easy as you can see him never materializing due to the injury

I seriously doubt he ever fully heals. He has a Bo Jackson injury. I spoke with an orthopedic surgeon and he said it’s most likely will have a hip replacement by 40.
I wouldn’t want my team to touch him. Really feel bad for the kid, but that’s Alabama. They use these kids up, not the 1st that was permanently damaged coming out of there.
 
I seriously doubt he ever fully heals. He has a Bo Jackson injury. I spoke with an orthopedic surgeon and he said it’s most likely will have a hip replacement by 40.
I wouldn’t want my team to touch him. Really feel bad for the kid, but that’s Alabama. They use these kids up, not the 1st that was permanently damaged coming out of there.

Happy he came out. Raiders just got one more top 10 player to move down.
 
I seriously doubt he ever fully heals. He has a Bo Jackson injury. I spoke with an orthopedic surgeon and he said it’s most likely will have a hip replacement by 40.
I wouldn’t want my team to touch him. Really feel bad for the kid, but that’s Alabama. They use these kids up, not the 1st that was permanently damaged coming out of there.
Bad injury no doubt and I wouldn't draft him any higher than the 2nd round IF I were a GM. They'll probably have a better idea of where he stands radiologically before the draft takes place. Alabama is no different than any other P5 program in regards to "using up" athletes. I would have LOVED to have been "used up" by NU back in the day. It was a freakish accident in a violent sport.
 
Que my Dolphins with picking him at #5.
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Lowest he will fall is to the ‘fins at 5... but I agree too many questions as of now to take him that high, but it sounds as if some of those questions will be answered in a few months...

I think Tua has a much higher ceiling than Burrow, but he his floor is also much lower than Burrows as well. You can see him being a huge success just as easy as you can see him never materializing due to the injury

Tua should drop due to medical concerns but I doubt that he will. The NFL just cannot help themselves. In the short term, everyone praises the teams that get "value" by drafting the bigger name guys who fall in the draft. He's making a great move. Much better to get drafted while a full recovery is "unknown" rather than try to comeback at Alabama and heaven forbid he looks terrible.
 
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His injury may be the same as Bo's in terms of the dislocation and fracture, but is not near as debilitating as Bo's. Bo's was worse because a part of the hip bone died as a result of loss of blood flow to the bone from the injury. Had that not happened to Bo, he probably would have at least been able to continue his baseball career. That didn't happen to Tua. From reports I have seen, there has been no necrosis of his hip bone. Although there was certainly some cartilage damage with the injury, that has apparently been repaired. Sure, he could develop some arthritis in his 40s to 50s, but that isn't going to impact his career much unless he's the next Brady. He is an extremely gifted passer. It helped that he had great college receivers at Alabama. But, he will have talented receivers in the NFL. I would not want to be the GM who takes a pass on him and then watch him blow up for a conference rival. These guys take a flier on potential all the time. Tua has more upside than the vast majority of those "fliers". I'd take him in a heart beat, depending on my team's needs of course. I don't take him if I require a starting QB next year. But, I do for 2 to 3 years down the road.
 
I wouldn't touch him...at the place you're going to have to take him, I want a kid without so mamy questions about his health.

I think he is always going to be injury prone and I don't know how good he is. I think he was a fantastic college QB, but I think a lot of good kids would be pretty good starting at Alabama. He is an accurate passer, but I don't if he can keep it together against NFL pressure
 
I seriously doubt he ever fully heals. He has a Bo Jackson injury. I spoke with an orthopedic surgeon and he said it’s most likely will have a hip replacement by 40.
I wouldn’t want my team to touch him. Really feel bad for the kid, but that’s Alabama. They use these kids up, not the 1st that was permanently damaged coming out of there.
Not a fan of any team other than NU, but don’t post such nonsense about Alabama unless you include a smiley face or otherwise let us know you are just kidding.
 
I think he is always going to be injury prone and I don't know how good he is. I think he was a fantastic college QB, but I think a lot of good kids would be pretty good starting at Alabama. He is an accurate passer, but I don't if he can keep it together against NFL pressure

He had 76 TDs and 9 INTs his two years as a starting QB while setting out a ton in those games. Had he actually played in a 4th quarter last year and not missed the games this year his stats would have been insane. He is a rare talent.
 
Not a fan of any team other than NU, but don’t post such nonsense about Alabama unless you include a smiley face or otherwise let us know you are just kidding.

Im not kidding, I have spoke with an actual OL (from the Eagles in 2013) at a charity event who played for a former Alabama OL coach (Jeff Stoutland) that told me this.
Whether you believe that or not, there’s nothing I can do.
 
Im not kidding, I have spoke with an actual OL (from the Eagles in 2013) at a charity event who played for a former Alabama OL coach that told me this.
Whether you believe that or not, there’s nothing I can do.


I believe it...as somebody who had 4 surgeries on the same hip, and the 4th is when I finally just had it replaced, that is a terrible joint to have an issue with if you play professional football. They depend on their hips so much, that if it isn't 100%, I just find it difficult to believe he'll ever reach his full potential. I also think he feels the same way which is why he's turning pro now, because it's still possible he will heal, and it's his best shot to get paid. If he goes back to 'Bama and doesn't heal, he will have passed up his only opportunity he'll ever get for one person or organization to cut a check to him for millions. He's being smart, the team who drafts him is taking a huge risk.
 
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I think he is always going to be injury prone and I don't know how good he is. I think he was a fantastic college QB, but I think a lot of good kids would be pretty good starting at Alabama. He is an accurate passer, but I don't if he can keep it together against NFL pressure

I am kind of with you on this one. Personally as a Dolphins fan I would rather have Herbert from Oregon over Tua at the #5 spot. Having watched Bama in 2019 their receivers were awesome, Jeudy, Waddle and Ruggs were flat out dudes.
 
There’s much more risk to passing on a generational talent who makes it than drafting an injury prone guy who can’t stay healthy. I’d take him at one. The bengals are terrible, if they draft tua and he never gets healthy, they’ll still be terrible and they can pick a new guy at the top of the draft in two or three years. If they pass on him and he does get healthy and becomes an mvp caliber player then it’s much harder to recover. Tua, even with the injury and missed games, has 5 more tds over the past two seasons than burrow. Tua this season, when burrow lit the world on fire and won the heisman in a runaway, had a better passer rating. Give me tua and if I’m back in two years so be it.
 
Still recovering from hip surgery Tua decides to go pro. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Tagovailoa projected as third overall. Good luck to Tua. BTW Tagovailoa's real first name is Tuanigamanuolepola. Say that 10 times fast!
Might fall out of the top 10 but worth the risk in my opinion. Combination of accuracy and arm strength are better than 90% of current NFL QBs. Just give him a decent OL and keep his running to a minimum. I wonder if the patriots might be willing to move up with a trade if he is available in a workable spot.
 
Still recovering from hip surgery Tua decides to go pro. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Tagovailoa projected as third overall. Good luck to Tua. BTW Tagovailoa's real first name is Tuanigamanuolepola. Say that 10 times fast!
Another thing to remember is that a player whose name I forget in the 96 Fiesta Bowl for Florida got pummeled on a kickoff return and dislocated his hip. He returned in full health and played in the NFL. Can't remember his name or the team Florida was playing. Was a good team I think.
 
Another thing to remember is that a player whose name I forget in the 96 Fiesta Bowl for Florida got pummeled on a kickoff return and dislocated his hip. He returned in full health and played in the NFL. Can't remember his name or the team Florida was playing. Was a good team I think.
Jacquez Green
 
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